Today over coffee I traded stories with someone of times where were both involved with AFES groups at different Universities and both of us remember the first time we were encouraged to go up to random strangers on campus and present to them the Two Ways To Live track.
I was able to reassure my coffee companion in reassuring him that he was not alone in thinking that there was no way that this was going to do anything more than thoroughly irritate the person approached. Fortunately for me there were two people at my Uni (Andrew and Amanda - bless 'em both) who re-wrote the Two Ways To Live tracked in a "how non Xns read two ways to live" kind of way. This is what it looked like
And this is what it said
As I drove home thinking about this I listen to Tom Lyberg's latest podcast Faith and Doubt Redux. He was saying things similar to what I had said in my Relating to a Postmodern mind Part 1 and Part 2 posts. As a postmodern Xn I see myself as a traveler and others as travelers I may know more than someone else or they may know more than me. By the time I get to the end of my travels I may have completely changed what I believe or I may have just tweaked my faith a little bit. No matter which it is I'm always open to the idea that my ideas may need a serious overhaul and that I at any given moment I am limited by what I know and what I have experienced. Because of this I cannot approach someone with a six point track and tell them "This is the truth about God life the universe and everything, you might have thought it would be more complicated than this but hey presto here it is in six simple boxes."
I guess I'm on of the postmodern Xns that Tom Lyberg speaks about when he says...
The best travelers are the one's who know that they are in a unknown territory and that they don't know everything and that they want to learn as much as you can from everyone else. In turn these are the sort of people that other travelers will come asking questions of. So if you doubt that you know everything relax, celebrate even and keep traveling.
I was able to reassure my coffee companion in reassuring him that he was not alone in thinking that there was no way that this was going to do anything more than thoroughly irritate the person approached. Fortunately for me there were two people at my Uni (Andrew and Amanda - bless 'em both) who re-wrote the Two Ways To Live tracked in a "how non Xns read two ways to live" kind of way. This is what it looked like
And this is what it said1. God is the loving dictator of the world.
He made the world.
He made us token rulers of the world subservient to Him.
2. We all reject the ruler God.
And try to enjoy life without God.
But we all fail because we are hopeless.
3. God's punishment for our rebellion is death.
That's right he made us the way we are and then damned us for being so.
4. Because it was his job God condescended to send his son into the world the enigmatic Jesus Christ.
Jesus was a sucker because he died in our place and took our punishment.
5. Three days later God allegedly raised Jesus to life.
Having conquered death Jesus brings a false sense of security and has become the big dictator of frame 1.
6. So two ways to live.
A. Live normally have a good time then die.
B. Learn to live with this big moral guilt trip hanging over our heads.
As I drove home thinking about this I listen to Tom Lyberg's latest podcast Faith and Doubt Redux. He was saying things similar to what I had said in my Relating to a Postmodern mind Part 1 and Part 2 posts. As a postmodern Xn I see myself as a traveler and others as travelers I may know more than someone else or they may know more than me. By the time I get to the end of my travels I may have completely changed what I believe or I may have just tweaked my faith a little bit. No matter which it is I'm always open to the idea that my ideas may need a serious overhaul and that I at any given moment I am limited by what I know and what I have experienced. Because of this I cannot approach someone with a six point track and tell them "This is the truth about God life the universe and everything, you might have thought it would be more complicated than this but hey presto here it is in six simple boxes."
I guess I'm on of the postmodern Xns that Tom Lyberg speaks about when he says...
"Slowly some postmodern Xns are rediscovering the Jesus who yelled at God for abandoning him on the cross. They're connecting with the frightened unbelieving disciples who ran from the first sign of trouble. They understand the words of the ancient spiritual giants who questioned God's very existence and affirmed it at the same time"
The best travelers are the one's who know that they are in a unknown territory and that they don't know everything and that they want to learn as much as you can from everyone else. In turn these are the sort of people that other travelers will come asking questions of. So if you doubt that you know everything relax, celebrate even and keep traveling.
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